The present invention relates to an enhanced vertical thermal reactor (VTR) system for use in the processing of semiconductor wafers and the like.
Vertical thermal reactors (furnaces) are known in the art which provide for the processing of semiconductor wafers.
In such type of VTR systems, semiconductor wafers contained within cassettes are loaded into a quartz boat and placed into the VTR for suitable processing. Problems in the processing of the semiconductor wafers include the fact that contamination can occur during various stages of the processing and processing delays can occur during the operation of the VTR.